This week we are in luck because we have ‘Rioja Week’ on www.jancisrobinson.com, one of the most influential platforms in the wine sector in the world. Ferrán Centelles, collaborator of elBulliFoundation, Editor at www.jancisrobinson.com and Professor at OutlookWine among many other facets, is publishing several articles this week with descriptions and results of almost 300 wines that give visibility to this extraordinary Silent Rioja.
He was surprised by the Aldonia garnachas giving us high ratings, and these are his comments:
“Some wineries have been true discoveries for me. Aldonia (subject of one of Jancis’s
2017 wines of the week) is today in the hands of the brothers Mario and Iván
Santos, who inherited the family vineyards, although many of them were converted
to Tempranillo. Convinced by the potential for Garnacha, they regrafted the vines
with this variety in 2006 and were among the first to produce varietal Garnacha in
2011. The bodega is in Rioja Alta, but its Garnacha vineyards are from this zone,
between Tudelilla and Bergasilla. Both its Aldonia Garnacha and its Aldonia 100 are
great-value wines, full of aromas of violets and black fruits. I was particularly
fascinated by their Aldonia 100, because you can see the quality of their
centenarian vineyards in a wine that sells for less than €20″.
Aldonia Garnacha 2017 Rioja
100% Garnacha. Vineyards planted between 540 and 690 m above sea level in
Tudelilla. Old bush vines of between 45 and 80 years old. Hand-harvested. Alcoholic
fermentation in open stainless-steel vats. Malolactic conversion in used French and
American oak barrels. Aged for 13 months. Light fining and filtering. 8,000 bottles.
Tasted blind. Floral, violets, and delicacy on the nose and over a very nice blackfruit
background. Sweet, round and well built. Very respectful barrel work. A project
that was totally unknown to me until now, but which I am going to follow closely.
(FC)
15%
Drink
2021–2030
16.5.
Aldonia, 100 2017 Rioja
100% Garnacha. Vineyards planted between 620 and 880 m above sea level in
Tudelilla and Bergasillas. Very old, centenarian bush vines. Alcoholic fermentation in
open stainless-steel vats. Malolactic conversion in old used French and American
oak barrels. Aged for 15 months. Light fining and filtering. 1,200 bottles.
Tasted blind. Touch of leather, black fruit and sweetness. The palate is fine with
sweet tannins. The oak isn’t overstated. Sweet perception and easy to drink.
Fabulous fruit from these centenarian vineyards. More Grenache like this, please,
with so much smoothness and GV. (FC)
15%
Drink
2021 – 2030
£17.50 Tanners Wine Merchants
17.5
Original URL: https://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/secret-riojas-zones-5-8
Ferran Centelles
